Tim Hockenberry is best known for his engaging and intimate renditions of “covers,” the music industry’s word for performances of songs made “hits” by another artist. And for some 20 years, he’s made his living singing them in concert halls, living rooms, private events, and clubs.

It didn’t really matter what Tim sang; he was beloved by his fans. So he hadn’t considered performing his own songs except for brief, once-in-awhile occurrences. But that all changed when he met up with vocalist and producer, Natasha Miller.

In 2011, the agents at America’s Got Talent made what had become their annual call to Natasha to source the best talent for their auditions. Natasha suggested Tim—even though she didn’t think he’d bite. Well, he did, and he got on the show. And he won the hearts and respect of all of the judges, most notably Howard Stern. Tim made it to the semi-finals, but ended up losing to a performance act that featured a dog.

In 2014 Tim didn’t have a manger, so he and Natasha entered into a formal management and development agreement. Then came a website overhaul, a takeover of his social media and outreach, and a complete reshaping of his musical direction—moving from covers to more of Tim’s own compositions.

“I’d heard a couple of Tim’s originals, and thought they were “hit” material. I asked him if he had more. Not only did he have more, they poured out of him. Almost on demand”. —Natasha

One Saturday night, for example, Natasha emailed Tim with a question about his website. Tim emailed back, “What are you doing? It’s Saturday night, why are you working?” and Natasha typed, “I’ve got nothing better to do than you.”

They joked about that line being a good song title—the idea stuck, and inspiration took hold. A few days later, Tim surprised Natasha with a clever blues tune that played on the sentiment and the line from their email exchange, and plans for a solo recording of his original material went into high gear.

Tim began writing more new songs, and they went back and looked at songs he’d already done but put aside. With a couple written by his sons, there were enough for a full-length recording.

The first track, “Me and You,” was written by Tim and his son, Maxx (then 19 years old) on Christmas in 2012. Video of the two of them playing through it that day can be seen here.

“If the Sky Was to Fall” was written by Tim’s youngest son, Jack Hockenberry, who was 17 at the time. Caught in a difficult breakup, Jack went over to his dad’s house in Corte Madera and wrote the song in about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, about the same time Tim and Natasha had begun working together, she had enlisted her brother, Justin Miller, to play with Tim in his live band and to help shape a new and different sound for his shows.

One day, Tim asked Natasha if Justin could sing—maybe background harmonies—live at shows. Laughing, she said, “No way! Well, not in front of anyone.” She told him he had to be sworn to secrecy, but she could let him hear him an arrangement of “Little Wing” Justin had recorded with his own vocals on melody (to show another musician how he wanted the line phrased in his arrangement.) After listening for a few seconds, Tim looked at her and said, “He sounds fine. But who the hell did the production on this?”

That was the turning point—it was Justin himself who did the production for the entire arrangement and played all of the instruments on the track.

“We all got excited and motivated and started on what would become a year-long project. It’s been so much fun!” -Natasha

Tim’s songs became Justin’s canvas for painting nuances–sounds both bold and subtle that spoke to the personality and content of each song itself. Stories Tim was telling through his songs became more vivid and alive in Justin’s interpretation and imagination. The common threads throughout are Tim’s vocals and writing. Each song charts its own unique journey from the first moment to the end. From pizzicato violin, yodeling, and the klezmer-sounds of the accordion to the speech-like tones of the Hammond B3 and the Deep-South wailing of the slide guitar—the songs travel through many layers of what is categorized these days as Americana. Mostly acoustic, always authentic.

Bay Area Favorite and America’s Got Talent Finalist Tim Hockenberry to Release his Self-titled Debut Album of Original Music, Tim Hockenberry, March 4th 2016

For Immediate Release – Tim Hockenberry is a versatile multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter whose voice is reminiscent of Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, and Tom Waits. He is releasing Tim Hockenberry, his self-titled debut album of all original music, worldwide on March 4th, 2016. He is also a gifted interpreter of well-known cover songs, and you only need to hear a few bars of Hockenberry singing I Left My Heart In San Francisco to understand that this is an artist who has a refreshingly authentic approach to great songs.

Tim gained international fame when he performed and made it to the semi-finals (last singer standing) on America’s Got Talent in 2012, where he was a favorite of judge Howard Stern. Stern declared Tim’s semi-final performance of John Lennon’s Imagine, with Tim on the piano accompanied by a cellist, “the most moving we’ve had from a singer in a long time.” The sparse arrangement won Stern over, who gave him a standing ovation and said the singer deserves “a place in the finals.” Sharon Osbourne described his performance as “very true” and “refreshing,” adding, “I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Howie Mandel said he could listen to Tim Hockenberry sing “all night long.”

Tim Hockenberry is best known for his engaging and intimate cover versions of a variety of well known hits, and for some 20 years he’s made his living singing them in concert halls, living rooms, private events, and clubs. It never really mattered what Tim sang; he was beloved by his fans. He hadn't performed his own songs much, except for once-in-awhile occurrences. But that all changed when he met up with vocalist and producer, Natasha Miller.

In 2014 Tim didn’t have a manager, so he and Natasha entered into a formal agreement and began a complete reshaping of his musical direction—moving from covers to more of Tim’s own compositions. “I had heard a couple of Tim’s originals and thought they were ‘hit’ material,” says Natasha. “I asked him if he had more. Not only did he have more, they poured out of him, almost on demand.” Tim began writing more new songs, and they went back and looked at others he’d already done but put aside. With a couple more written by his sons, there were enough for a full-length recording.

The first track, “Me and You,” was written by Tim with his 19-year-old son Maxx on Christmas Day in 2012. “If the Sky Was to Fall” was written with his youngest son Jack, who was 17 at the time. Meanwhile, about the same time Tim and Natasha began working together, she enlisted her brother Justin Miller to play with Tim in his live band and help shape a new and different sound for his shows. That was the turning point—it was Justin himself who did the production, arrangements and played most of the instruments on the entire project... “We all got excited and motivated and started on what would become a year-long project,” says Natasha. “It’s been so much fun!”

Tim’s songs became Justin’s canvas for painting nuances–sounds both bold and subtle that spoke to the personality and content of each song itself. Stories Tim was telling through his songs became more vivid and alive in Justin’s interpretation and imagination. The common threads throughout are Tim’s vocals and writing. Each song charts its own unique journey from the first moment to the end. From pizzicato violin, yodeling, and the klezmer-sounds of the accordion to the speech-like tones of the Hammond B3 and the Deep-South wailing of the slide guitar—the songs travel through many layers of what is categorized these days as Americana. Mostly acoustic, always authentic.

Born on June 13, 1962 in upstate New York, Tim’s family moved a few times during his childhood. He graduated in 1980 from Owatonna High School in rural Minnesota in a small town south of Minneapolis. Tim's musical odyssey began when he sang in the choir, and then taught himself to play the piano while fervently playing the trombone as well. He eventually moved to Northern California and he has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry ever since, having become known for his covers of Sitting on the Dock of The Bay or Christmas by the Bay. Tim Hockenberry splits his time between Charleston, South Carolina and San Francisco, California, where he has become a beloved part of the Bay Area’s rich arts culture.

Over the past few years Tim Hockenberry has shared the stage with many legendary performers including Bonnie Raitt, Steve Miller, and Robert Cray, to name a few. Tim has established himself as a very compelling and important artist in the Bay Area music scene. In addition to touring with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Tim has performed at high-profile venues all over northern California, including The Fillmore, Great American Music Hall, Bimbo's 365 Club, The Napa Valley Opera House, The Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts, Feinstein's at the Hotel Nikko, and 142 Throckmorton Theater. He has also headlined at a multitude of festivals including the Robert Mondavi Summer Concert Series, the Clearwater Jazz Festival, and the Mill Valley Arts Festival.

The great Vlado Meller has just put his finishing touches on Tim's forthcoming record. Everyone is excited, and we're off to the presses!

More about Vlado:

Quite simply, Vlado Meller is one of the undisputed masters of mastering.

Vlado has been a mastering engineer for his entire 43-year career in the recording industry. Just a small sampling of his credits cut across multiple genres of music, including rock, hip hop, pop, jazz, metal, dance, opera, Broadway and classical.

On his way to becoming a two-time GRAMMY Award winner, Vlado began his career by cutting vinyl at CBS Records in 1969. Since then, his work has spanned decades and styles, with hit records from every imaginable genre.

Vlado worked with CBS/Sony for 38 years. After the legendary Sony Studios in New York City closed, Meller joined Universal Mastering, where he continued to expand his unparalleled portfolio until 2011. Today, Vlado continues to perfect his craft at Masterdisk in NYC. For Vlado Meller, mastering is an ongoing sonic adventure where a welcome musical challenge is always just around the corner. Working for major and independent labels for his entire career, being exposed to an enormous range of styles and artists, and teaming with clients from all around the world have given him a unique in-depth perspective on the art and craft of mastering. He is ready to share that experience in the Vlado Meller Mastering Workshop.

The tracking is done on all 10 songs, and they're are being mixed right now! John Merchant and Ryan Freeland are working their magic to make this songs as perfect as can be. This is the home stretch. Once we're done mixing, it goes to mastering, then to production to become an actual CD. Stay tuned, we'll update on final release date asap.

We're almost done recording all ten songs for the new CD. Then it's mixing, mastering, photo shoot, album art, replication and out the door to everyone. BUT BEFORE THAT we could use your help. Either buy the CD in advance and/or contribute in a bigger way to help the CD come to life. See all details and watch my funny video here.

Tim Hockenberry

American Pianist/Singer/Songwriter

Tim Hockenberry is a multi-instrumentalist (piano, bass, Trombone, Vocals), songwriter as well as a gifted interpreter of well-known cover songs.

Tim gained national fame when he performed and made it to the semi-finals (last singer standing) on America’s Got Talent in 2012. He was a favorite of judge Howard Stern.

Tim Hockenberry's voice is reminiscent of Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, and Tom Waits, but you only need to hear a few bars of Hockenberry singing "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" to understand that this is an artist who has a refreshingly authentic approach to great songs.

He has shared the stage with performers such as Bonnie Raitt, Steve Miller, and Robert Cray and has established himself as one of the most compelling and important artists in the Bay Area music scene.

In addition to touring with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Tim has performed at high-profile venues all over northern California, such as The Fillmore, the Great American Music Hall, Bimbo's 365 Club, The Napa Valley Opera House, the Rrazz Room, the Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts and the 142 Throckmorton Theater. He has also headlined at a multitude of festivals including the Robert Mondavi Summer Concert Series, the Clearwater Jazz Festival and the Mill Valley Arts Festival.